Closeness (2017)

In the late-1990s squalid town of Nalchik, a poor young Jewish couple is kidnapped and a grievous ransom is demanded, as bitter resentments and cruel dilemmas come to light, magnifying the small community's grave predicament.

Director:

Kantemir Balagov

Writers:

Kantemir Balagov, Anton Yarush

Stars:

Atrem Cipin, Olga Dragunova, Veniamin Kac

15 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Atrem Cipin	...	Avi Koft
Olga Dragunova	...	Adina Koft
Veniamin Kac	...	David Koft
Anna Levit	...	Lea
Darya Zhovnar	...	Ilana 'Ila' Koft
Nazir Zhukov	...	Zalim

Storyline

1998, Nalchik. A Jewish family is in trouble: the youngest son and his bride do not come home, and in the morning, a ransom note arrives. The ransom is so high that the family is forced not only to sell its small business, but also to seek help from its fellow tribesmen.

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Plot Keywords:

garage | cigarette smoking | hugging | jew | jewish community | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

3 August 2017 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Closeness

Filming Locations:

Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$184,008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alexander Sokurov's Fund, Club 418, Example of Intonation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Kantemir Balagov incorporated footage of a real snuff film involving murders into Closeness.

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Connections

References Titanic (1997)

User Reviews

An intriguing debut

A really interesting debut from Balagov that earned him the favour of critics at the Cannes film festival in 2017.

This movie represents a very deep dive in the patriarchal culture, permeating Russia and North Caucasus in general, how the women struggle with the lack of ability to choose their own path, the way they are treated by their parents and everyone around them. At the same time, it is also a dive into the idea of toxic mother's love, that gets overbearing and, at times quite literally, to the point of choking the children.

Also, about the violence, which some of the previous rewires have deemed unnecessary - unfortunately, it was necessary, as it drives the plot and the ethnic conflict between the native ethnicities of North Caucasus and everyone else. It is also an important contextual detail to understanding why the family feels alienated.